Three cheers for summer!!! It's finally here! Last weekend I got a pretty gnarly sunburn all over my upper back, blisters and all. Moral of the story, wear sunscreen - lots of it. So this Friday we opted to skip the beach, but it didn't stop us from soaking up all that glorious summer heat. With our Divvy bikes! Possibly our best investment this summer was this bike share membership, an easy breezy way to get around this beautiful, but humongous, city. This year we vowed to get out of our comfort zone that is the west loop (and surrounding areas), and make it out to other areas, like Lakeview and Edgewater up in the north, Hyde Park and Pilsen down south. Because it's all just so unique! In a similar way that NYC is magical, where every neighborhood could pass as its own town, with their own music scene, their own funky folks, their own tasty treats. Can you tell I just love living here? And as such here is PSA number 2 - wear a helmet. Even on this adventure I slipped and totally ATE IT onto some hot concrete, but no head injuries were sustained! Just some minor scrapes that will heal in time. Probably faster than my pride.

Indianapolis will always be special to me and Andrew. It's where we met, where we had our first date, and where we suffered through the hell that is medical school - but hey, we had each other to get through it. But Chicago is also becoming such an important piece of our relationship. It's where we purchased our first home, where we learned how to live with one another. That last part is huge. It's so different when you share a common space, because we both have different needs and different standards. Neither of us wants to be uncomfortable in our own home. It needs open communication and respect to work. And so I would say Chicago is also where I became a more thoughtful person. It's less about me, more about us. More about my friends. More about my family and my loved ones.

Chicago is also where the food options are endless! Including the donuts! In Indy there was one, maybe two, places we frequented for that amazingness that is a donut. Here, there are like at least five that we've already tried and I keep finding more and more on social media. The conversation often goes like this:

Me: "I WANT TO GOOOOO! Oh my god I want a donut. Like now. But I already ate. Wait, can we go on our next day off?! When would that be?" *Frantically scans through Google calendar to find an open day.* "What about next Monday! We both have it off! OH MY GOD WE CAN DIVVY TO THERE!!!"

Andrew: "Sure." *Goes back to playing video games*

I jest, I promise he gets just as excited about donuts as I do. Okay, maybe not quite on my level. But it has been so much fun exploring these donut destinations. They are all so different and all so very tasty. We went all the way up to Smack Dab yesterday, a cute little shop by Loyola that sells little vegan donuts in threes. They also sold very very good cold brew just FYI. After donuts we were still in an adventurous mood so we biked over to Lakeview for some fried chicken, Andrew's actual one true love (this may be tied with pizza, but I am not sure. I think it depends on the day). We went to Crisp, a Korean fried chicken joint with insanely crispy skin and a sweet sauce that reminds me of home. The chicken was hot, juicy, and saucy. We destroyed it and then basically rolled back home in food bliss. So here are some photos because the whole day was a great day, and those days should be celebrated. Happy weekend, folks!